Hi everyone! I’m back with my next installment of Little Loves. Little Loves is a post series I created as a way to acknowledge and appreciate more of the little things that are making me happy every day.

💖 the Empire Magazine Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them special edition magazine which plays two videos! Thanks to my friend Dan for bringing it to me from the UK 💖 flannel Christmas tree sheets from Target- they’re so cozy that I never want to leave my bed in the morning! 💖 all the candles- bookish candles, Christmas candles, you name it, I love it 💖 burning my gingerbread Anthropologie candle on my night table while reading and admiring the reflection of our fairy lights! 💖 Caraval by Stephanie Garber- this book is pure ~magic~ 💖 peppermint everything but especially peppermint Ghiradelli products 💖 the hot chocolate bar at Erika and Alex’s Ugly Christmas Sweater party 💖 Maureen visiting NYC and finally getting to meet her IRL 💖 everything plaid and rustic and cozy and copper 💖 Moscow Mule mugs because they’re rose gold and beautiful and I even drink water out of them at this point 💖 snow! 💖 Christmas decorations 💖 spending a day in a recording studio helping our brother-in-law and sis-in-law record music 💖 mulled wine 💖 mini vacations and all the family time 💖 not being in the middle of any tv shows- I feel so free to be productive and do other things when I get home 💖 Harry X-Mas to You- Andrew did all the art for my Funko video and I’m so thankful I was able to participate this year! 💖 the KonMari method – my apartment looks like a whole new place and I’ve loved every outfit I’ve worn and night I’ve spent reading in my decluttered room since I employed her principles 💖

As you probably remember, Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I basically spend every day after my birthday counting down for Halloween to be over because once November 1st hits, people start accepting my Christmas spirit (except for a couple of Thanksgiving enthusiasts who I will fight *I’m looking at you Kelly*). This year is extra special because it’s Andrew and I’s first Christmas together in our own apartment so we get to start building our very own decor. We’re planning on going to Target next weekend, picking up our choices and D E C O R A T I N G ! Obviously this meant that I spent about 4 hours looking at ever single Christmas item in every single Christmas category on the Target website. Since I wanted so much (shocking, I know), I created a Christmas registry so I could easily reference it while we’re in the store and I was able to narrow down the things I think we need a bit. I put together a Polyvore set of some of my favorite items because nothing makes me happier than publishing Christmas themed blog posts or YouTube videos. Last year I did 25 days of Christmas blogging which I don’t *think* I’ll be able to manage this year but I am sure as heck going to try. Enjoy and be merry!

I was so excited when I saw these adorable Christmas themed pajamas in the Target weekly ad! I immediately texted a photo of them to Andrew and asked if he would wear the Santa ones for some photos with me. Luckily, Andrew has known about my Christmas addiction since very early on in our relationship so he was a really good sport about participating in this photoshoot. However, he has stated that he will never wear these again which is totally fine. If there was ever a doubt the he actually loves me (there isn’t), I think these photos are pretty solid proof that he does.

Seeing as how this is a holiday weekend and all, I had a little extra time this morning to lay in bed without feeling guilty and while I was browsing through my twitter feed, I happened to see a tweet by my internet friend Jen, alerting me to the fact that Target is now carrying Pumpkin Spice M&M’s. I leaped out from under my covers with a kind of motivation on par with how Captain America must feel when Nick Fury gives him a new S.H.I.E.L.D. assignment. I threw on the closest t-shirt, pair of shorts, and Converse sneakers I could find, all the while having daydreams about how the rest of my day would play out. I stopped only for a second to visit the Target website, and make sure that my precious pumpkin spice M&M’s were in stock at my preferred Target location. I can’t remember anything from my drive over. Did I listen to music? Probably, my mind was 100% focused on the end goal. I parked my car, ran into the store and bounded down the M&M aisle. Peanut M&M’s, Peanut Butter M&M’s, Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Coconut, Almond… OMG THERE AREN’T ANY PUMPKIN SPICE. I immediately began to freak out. I had flashbacks to last year and began feeling a pit form in the bottom of my stomach. It was going to be Candy Corn Oreo’s all over again. “Douglas Adams would tell you not to panic,” I told myself. I began to breathe. I looked for the closest Target employee and told him I NEEDED pumpkin spice M&M’s but they’re not in the M&M aisle. “Hmmm, I saw those earlier today,” he said, “Give me a minute.” I paced and paced until he returned from customer service with three packages in hand! I became so excited that I nearly jumped up and down in the middle of the store. Achievement unlocked! “Here you go!” he said, handing me one bag. “I think I better get at least two packages…” I thoughtfully countered. So yeah, now I am the proud consumer of Pumpkin Spice M&M’s. The second half of my quest, the return home, is anticlimactic compared to acquiring my precious, so I’ll go right ahead and describe the taste to you.

Pumpkin Spice M&M’s are manufactured in the exact way as peanut butter M&M’s. If you bite into the shell leaving half of the M&M in tact (similar to a diagram of the Earth’s core, except, you know, with chocolate), you’ll see that just beneath the shell is a thin layer of the pumpkin spice flavoring with the milk chocolate encapsulated in the center. The pumpkin spice flavoring compliments the chocolate and sugary shell surprisingly well. I’ll buy just about anything that is pumpkin spice flavored, so I’ve had my fair share of disappointment in the past, but these delicious pieces of candy exceed all expectations. They’re spicy and sweet all at once which gives your tastebuds an incredibly satisfying experience. I’m almost kicking myself for not purchasing more packages because these have become an instant favorite of mine. I’m considering using my second package to make a batch of pumpkin spice M&M cookies, but we’ll see if they last long enough for me to get around to actually baking them! If you’re considering buying some of these, I would suggest getting them ASAP. They’re bound to sell out quickly once other pumpkin spice aficionados such as myself become privy to their existence.